4G in the UK: EE's network woes continue

Some customers looking to get a jump-start on super-fast 4G LTE download speeds have found themselves stranded without mobile phone reception for up to eight days following ongoing technical issues at EE.

Some customers on the UK's first national 4G LTE network, run by EE, are continuing to suffer connection and signal problems, leaving them unable to use their phones for texting, calling or data services.

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Two weeks after the launch of the service on 30 October, EE conceded that customers migrating to its network from Orange or T-Mobile, as well as some new customers, were having trouble getting up and running on 4G due to "teething problems", compounded by the wrong SIM cards being sent out to some customers.

However, exactly two weeks later and 4G customers on EE's community pages are still complaining of no service for days on end; some also announced their intention to leave the network as soon as possible.

One of the issues affecting customers is the correct activation of SIM cards, necessary to receive a network signal.

"My SIM Card is still not activated and it's been almost a week... Each time I called they say my phone has been activated already and they will need a contact number to call me so they can advise me on my case. I have not had a single phone call and I keep getting the same response. I'm about to return my phone and [I'm] cancelling my contract as I'm bored with being fobbed off," a user by the name of 'mhumphries42' wrote on the EE support pages on Monday.

"So far my colleagues have been asking about my experiences with 4G and EE, and naturally my responses have not been favourable," mhumphries42 added.

Grievances

A number of other EE customers took to Twitter to air their grievances at their experiences as customers of the network.

"Everything Everywhere, more like nothing nowhere. Really is poor reception to match poor customer service #EEfail. Sorry will not renew," Twitter user Jimmy Bob White, wrote on Saturday.

"Everything Everywhere, more like nothing nowhere" — Jimmy Bob White

Other customers were not completely cut off, but were restricted to only using certain services due to problems with EE's processes.

"Limited to only making calls on @ee because they are having problems registering new contracts on to systems. #EEFail," 'DCBoyce' wrote.

EE told ZDNet the problems are due to "isolated issues" that are being remedied, but did not say exactly where where the technical issues lie.

"As with all large-scale technology services, there are a number of different factors than can affect coverage. Our engineers are currently working on a small number of isolated technical issues at particular base stations to ensure all customers get the best possible service," an EE spokeswoman said in an email.

The company was quick to note that its 3G network (run under the Orange and T-Mobile brands) has not been affected by the introduction of 4G, even though some customers have reported a slow down in 3G service since the new network was introduced.

"We would like to make clear that our 3G network is unaffected by the launch of 4G," the company's spokeswoman said